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Final Cut: Words to Strike from Your Resume

If you’ve applied for a job recently, you’ve probably looked over that 8½ x 11” summary of your career more times than you can count—and tweaked it just as often—in pursuit of the perfect resume.

But before you add another bullet point, consider this: It’s not always about what you add in—the best changes you can make may lie in what you take out.

The average resume is chock-full of sorely outdated, essentially meaningless phrases that take up valuable space on the page. Eliminate them, and you’ll come off as a better, more substantial candidate—and your resume won’t smack of that same generic, mind-numbing quality found on everyone else’s.

Every word—yes, every word—on that page should be working hard to highlight your talents and skills. If it’s not, it shouldn’t be on there. So grab a red pen, and banish these words from your resume for good.

Career Objective

My first few resumes had a statement like this emblazoned top and center: “Career objective: To obtain a position as a [insert job title here] that leverages my skills and experience as well as provides a challenging environment that promotes growth.”

Yawn. This is not only boring, it’s ineffective (and sounds a little juvenile, to boot). The top of your resume is prime real estate, and it needs to grab a hiring manager’s attention with a list of your top accomplishments, not a summary of what you hope to get out of your next position.

Experienced You can be “experienced” in something after you’ve done it once—or every day for the past 10 years. So drop this nebulous term and be specific. If, for example, you’re a Client Report Specialist, using a phrase such as “Experienced in developing client reports” is both vague and redundant. But sharing that you “Created five customized weekly reports to analyze repeat client sales activity”—now that gives the reader a better idea of where exactly this so-called experience lies, with some actual results attached.

Also eliminate: seasoned, well-versed

Team Player If you’ve ever created an online dating profile, you know that you don’t just say that you’re nice and funny—you craft a fun, witty profile that shows it. Same goes for your resume: It’s much more effective to list activities or accomplishments that portray your good qualities in action than to simply claim to have them.

Instead of “team player,” say “Led project team of 10 to develop a new system for distributing reports that reduced the time for managers to receive reports by 25%.” Using a specific example, you show what you can actually accomplish. But simply labeling yourself with a quality? Not so much.

Also eliminate: people person, customer-focused

Dynamic While resumes are meant to highlight your best attributes, some personality traits are better left to the hiring manager to decide upon for herself. There is a difference between appropriately and accurately describing your work skills and just tooting your own horn. Plus, even the most introverted wallflower will claim to be “dynamic” on a piece of paper because, well, why not? When it comes to resumes, keep the content quantifiable, show tangible results and successes, and wait until the interview to show off your “dynamism,” “enthusiasm,” or “energy.”

Also eliminate: energetic, enthusiastic

References Available Upon Request All this phrase really does is take up valuable space. If a company wants to hire you, they will ask you for references—and they will assume that you have them. There’s no need to address the obvious (and doing so might even make you look a little presumptuous!). Use the space to give more details about your talents and accomplishments instead.

In a crummy job market with a record number of people applying for the same positions, it takes more than a list of desirable-sounding qualities to warrant an interview. Specific examples pack a punch, whereas anything too dependent on a list of buzzwords will sound just like everyone else’s cookie-cutter resume. So, give your resume a good once-over, and make sure every word on that page is working hard for you.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Muse. For more advice on nailing the job search, check out:

Elizabeth Lowman is a proud word nerd, happy to silently correct your grammar as you speak. A life-long passion for language parlayed into a career in writing and editing on topics ranging from court reporting to natural ways to boost your immunity. When not busy feeding her addiction to pop culture, sushi and/or cupcakes, you can find her trying to be a good wife, daughter and friend.

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So job requirements says, they need experienced in xxxx language who is team player & dynamic personality. And of course not-so-technical recruiter looks for those keywords along with xyz. I am confused, is this article is yet-another-resume-suggestion?

Oh, gee, thanks a lot. Now any idiot can send me a resume that can’t be eliminated by scanning for these dumb words. Is the world a better place when the lack of a real education becomes easier to hide?

I really like what you have to say here. Though it may not do so directly, much of it seems to naturally flow from “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White.

To what you’ve said, I’d like to add a quote by Professor Strunk from that very book that I believe precisely overarches what you have said: “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.” His coauthor, E.B. White, said of this, “There you have a short, valuable essay on the nature and beauty of brevity–sixty-three words that could change the world.”

I don’t agree with the level of detail you’re promoting – although I’m wholeheartedly on your side getting rid of boring resumes.

As a headhunter, I want a CV to give me the broad picture – just enough to give me an inkling that this person might be worth speaking with. If I get too many specifics (which I’ll have to check anyway at interview and with references) then I may get somebody who’ll bore me to death (which is usually the case in my experience). I’m usually looking for leaders, not actuaries.

The resume/CV is a sales document to get somebody an interview. You can read my own advice on CV’s at http://fastheadhunter.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/your-cv-tips-to-get-noticed/

I think it is an excellent article, however the writer forgot to mention who should use this advise. There are two main types jobs and job applicants: 1. Entry level jobs or junior supervisory positions where the applicant is requested to apply online. In this case a computer programs is scanning the resume for key words, that most probably were part of the job description and qualifications required. If the program does not find a certain percentage of those key words, a human will never read that resume. It will be deleted. In this scenarion it is important to use the same key words and language that the employer is using in the job ad, i.e. team player, excellent communication skills etc… Try to use it in the cover letter and highlights of skills and qualifications. In the actual past job descriptions, rather that using tasks and general words, show accomplishments. 2. Middle to senior management positions, or other professionals with special skills. This is the category of applicants, that are usually asked to e-mail a resume to a recruiter or hiring manager, as an HR person could not easily tick off the boxes for required skills. The article applies to this category of applicants and is an absolutely excellent resource.

I totally disagree with most of what’s been blogged about here, with respect. Objective is something that is simply more white noise. When I’m scanning resumes, or rewriting them, it’s all about Where you are and What you’re doing, and How you represent your role (and to an extent, what you’re called). www.MyExecutiveResume.com